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APPARENT PATHS OF THE PLANETS

This month, Mercury chases the Sun eastward, and Saturn essentially pauses in the sky!

Run these links as often as you like, and keep an eye on CELESTIA's clock at top right.  And remember: you can use the J, K and L keys respectively to reverse, slow down and speed up time in CELESTIA.


MERCURY: 2010 June

Spending most of June west of the Sun, Mercury chases it through Taurus and then into Gemini.  All along the way, Mercury is "closing in" on the Sun, finally passing it before month's end  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


VENUS: 2010 June

Spending all of June leading the Sun eastward, Venus exits Gemini, passes through Cancer, and finally enters Leo at month's end  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1)


MARS: 2010 June

Mars continues moving to the east in Leo for all of June.  On the 7th, it passes north of the star Regulus  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


JUPITER, URANUS & NEPTUNE: 2010 June

Jupiter continues to move slowly eastward, passing Uranus near mid-month.  In the meantime, Uranus and Neptune move eastward in Pisces and Aquarius, but very slowly  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


SATURN: 2010 June

Essentially "stopped" in the sky at the beginning of June, slow-moving Saturn finally begins moving to the east again  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).

Here again are the links that let you see Saturn's entire (though smallish) retrograde loop of 2010  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1)

CELES-TIPS

The following will help you enjoy this page's many links that run events directly in CELESTIA.  If you're new to the program, these tips will also help you learn to use it.


HIGHLIGHT EVENT

LUNAR ECLIPSE 2010 June 26

To view this video in a larger size, click here.

For a bonus preview of next month's spectacular "south-Pacific" Total Solar Eclipse, click here.

THE SUN

APPARENT PATH OF THE SUN: 2010 June

Here are the Sun's positions along the Ecliptic at 00:00 UTC on the days shown.

The slightly curved lines above and below the Ecliptic show the extent of the Zodiac, which you may download from our  Bonuses  page and add to any version of CELESTIA.  Note that the curve in the Zodiac lines is the result of CELESTIA's rendering in perspective.

W A R N I N G !     It is never safe to look directly at the real Sun with the naked eye!  Moreover, looking at it through a telescope or binoculars—even for an instant—can cause permanent blindness!  NEVER DO IT!  Consult the professionals at your local planetarium or observatory to learn how you can safely "observe" the Sun and any SOLAR eclipse!

Of course, you can safely view CELESTIA's depiction of the Sun's apparent path in the sky in June.  Here are the links:  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).  Note that versions 1.6.x and 1.4.1 differ in the way their "follow" and "lock" features work.  If you "follow" Earth and then "lock" the Sun to it, versions 1.6.x and 1.4.1 respectively maintain the "attitudes" of the Ecliptic and the the Celestial Equator.  This means that the Ecliptic remains "level" when you run the first link, but begins to tilt when you run the second!  Differences like this will be discussed on our  Help  page.


HALF OF EARTH IN SUNLIGHT & DARKNESS

During your voyages in CELESTIA, would you like to be able to position yourself directly over the center of the half of Earth in sunlight or the half in darkness at any time this month?  On our  Tips  page, you'll find that it's quite easy to do so!  If you're any kind of sky watcher at all, you probably know just how helpful this can be!

THE MOON

PHASES OF THE MOON: 2010 June

In UTC per CELESTIA 1.6.x (& 1.4.1):
  3rd Qtr: Jun 4, 22:14 (22:15). New: Jun 12, 11:15 (11:16).
  1st Qtr: Jun 19, 4:30 (4:31). Full: Jun 26, 11:31 (11:32).

NOTE: New, 1st Quarter, Full and 3rd Quarter Moons respectively are defined to occur when the Geocentric Ecliptic Longitudes of the Moon and the Sun differ by 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°.

Notice that the Lunar Eclipse, which is a partial one this month, confirms the date of the Full Moon.  Why?  Lunar Eclipses can only occur during a Full Moon.

The above diagram is produced with our "Moon Phases Calendar" script.  The numbers of the days of the month were added with an image-editing program.


LUNAR PERIGEE & APOGEE: 2010 June

Per CELESTIA 1.6.x (and 1.4.1):
    Apogee: Jun 3 16:42 (16:43) UTC; 404,274 km.
    Perigee: Jun 15 14:59 (14:59) UTC; 365,932 km.
Determined by our "Earth-Moon Distance" and "Moon's Apparent Path" scripts.  Note that distances given are the distances between Earth's and the Moon's centers.


LUNAR ANALEMMA: 2010 June

Here is the lunar analemma, generated by the Moon's positions relative to the mean lunar orbit and the Ecliptic at 0:00 UTC every day of June.

This phenomenon can be observed using our "Moon's Apparent Path" script.  The analemma's change of shape month after month begins to give us an idea of just how irregular the lunar orbit is.


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Various astronomical "shadow events" occur throughout the Solar System!  This month's more interesting ones are featured here.

SHADOW WORKS

Here we highlight (and set up) the most awe-inspiring eclipses taking place in our Solar System, so that all you need to do is click on their links.  Don't forget that you can generate lists of Earth's, Jupiter's, Saturn's, Uranus's, Neptune's and even Pluto's eclipses, using CELESTIA's own built-in "Eclipse Finder."  You'll find it in the program's menu under "Navigation".

All events listed below are displayed as if viewed from Earth, their magnifications shown in parentheses at the lower right of CELESTIA's window.  Events involving more than one moon are often cyclical, so usually only the first example is given, and then the period of the cycle.


JUPITER

Simultaneous solar eclipses on Jupiter are again a "no show" in June.  Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto—the "Galilean" moons—are still "spread out" in their orbits this month.  So the highlights of the 31 solar eclipses they produce are less spectacular than those in other months.  Notice that Jupiter's shadow still stretches off to the west (right on your screen,) and examples of the Galileans moving in and out of it are also included.


SATURN

While CELESTIA 1.6.x shows the shadows of Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione and Tethys, version 1.4.1 displays only the shadows of Titan, Rhea & Iapetus.  So, 1.6.x and 1.4.1 respectively show 34 and 7 solar eclipses on Saturn in June.  The highlights are as follows:


URANUS, NEPTUNE & Dwarf Planet PLUTO

Neither Uranus nor Neptune will experience eclipses for decades.  Dwarf planet Pluto will experience no eclipses by Charon for about a century!



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News: 2010 June

News: